ADVENTURE AGENT SUPPORTS A MORITORIUM ON MINING IN POPULATED AREAS, IN PARTICULAR, EASTERN ONTARIO, NORTH FRONTENAC

PROVINCE OF ONTARIO
PUT ON 60 DAY NOTICE OF
PENDING CLASS ACTION REGARDING THE PROSPECT OF A
URANIUM MINE IN
NORTH FRONTENAC TOWNSHIP IN
EASTERN ONTARIO AT ROBERTSVILLE:

Mine protesters to put Ontario on legal notice
Opponents to challenge uranium extraction on Charter grounds
Jessey Bird, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Saturday, December 08, 2007
Eastern Ontario opponents of uranium mining will put the province on notice Monday, demanding public consultation and an eventual moratorium on uranium mining in the province.

Ottawa-based lawyer Mike Swinwood will represent 30 non-native North Frontenac families and about 50 Ottawa residents when he presents a notice of intention to challenge the constitutionality of the Ontario Mining Act to the Attorney General of Ontario.

The group is hoping for a discussion with the province on the issues, said Mr. Swinwood. "If in 60 days no discussion occurs, we will be filing a class action lawsuit challenging the Mining Act," he said.

Mr. Swinwood's case will argue that the Ontario Mining Act, which was passed in 1868 and changed little since, infringes on the Charter's guarantee to life, liberty and security of person.

The act doesn't require public consultation before mining exploration can take place, he said -- and it was passed before uranium mining even existed, he said.

Ardoch and Shabot Obaadjiwan Algonquin First Nations, as well as non-native residents of North Frontenac, are currently at odds with mining companies, who can legally stake a mining claim on private property if the owner doesn't possess the mineral rights.

Mr. Swinwood says his clients have concerns about the effect uranium mining will have on their health and the environment.

"They moved into the area with the idea that it was the land of the lakes and they don't want to see it become the land of the glow," Mr. Swinwood said.

Two years ago, John Kittle and his wife Sheila bought a two-acre property in Snow Road village on the Mississippi River in North Frontenac.

"We have been horrified to find out that just upstream of us is a potential uranium mine," said Mr. Kittle, a 61-year-old retiree who is one of Mr. Swinwood's clients.

"We are getting somewhat exasperated so we are taking legal action," he said.

"It would be a very interesting case," said Joan Kuyek, national coordinator of Mining Watch Canada. ...

A moratorium is not an option, said a spokeswoman for Mr. McGuinty.

"The premier himself has said that there will not be a moratorium," said Jane Almeida.

Michael Gravelle, minister of northern development and mines, has promised to review the Mining Act. But his office would not comment on a potential public forum for the review.

"This is not even a proposed mine we're talking about," said Mr. Gravelle's spokeswoman Anne-Marie Flanagan.

"Before any mine would become operational it has to go through an environmental assessment and this would always include a component of public consultation."

The information provided above relates to the potential development of a Uranium mine at Robertsville Ontario. The Robertsville uranium mine would be developed at Robertsville, near Sharbot Lake, North Frontenac Township, Frontenac County, in Eastern Ontario. Robertsville was one of several small community stops on the Kingston & Pembroke Railway line. Now reliant on tourism and mineral and timber extraction, the Robertsville mine does not bode well for eco tourism, which the County and the Townships have been trying to promote.

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